Darkness Dawns
by CC.x.Charming
Summary: A/N: Possible oneshot...but I may take it further. Following the Dragonborn's story, and how a quest to guard the dawn, could change his life forever.


**A quick story that I may return to after my main one is out of the way.**

Darkness Dawns

A pair of pale fingers pressed deeper into the papered purple petal that lay in their grasp. Antero eyed the object with dull sensitivity, before brining it up to his face. The sweet sharpness of the lingering tones of Nightshade, danced with cruelty across his senses; every inhalation brought a bitter kick to his gut.

She was gone.

He brushed the shrivelled fragment across his cheek; desperate to remember the feel of the one who once held it. The softness that it had previously conjured was missing, and in its place, the bitter emptiness of loss.

Being alone had suited him. He did not like conversation or compromise, he did not enjoy the idea of trust. If he had wished for company previously, he could have found it briefly in a tavern, and woken to regain the freedom that his solitary lifestyle provided him, the next morn. Now though, he could not breathe. Antero ran a free hand through his pale locks as he tried to distils his thoughts. The loneliness was closing in. Silence where her voice should have been. Silence pressing down, unrelenting, seeping into his soul and mind. He let out a brief, muted sob as he pressed his forehead against a battered boulder. His ash-stained surroundings kept him grounded in reality. He pressed his flesh deeper; shuddering against the stone as he relived the moment his blade entered her broken body.

His cheeks became damp as his eyes closed. That mutilated being was not her, he told himself. Not the Astrid he had silently worshipped. The creature he had slain, was one of pain and desperation. Astrid had always been in control. A soft smile formed on his lips as his thoughts drifted back to their first meeting. His large frame slid to the floor as the memory engulfed him completely.

_The assassin's mouth formed into a curved smile as she glanced down at the slumbering form beneath her. His pale locks were a contrast to the deep red staining the floor under him. _

_Such a young face for a murderer, but a face with experience nonetheless._

_His breathing quickened as he began to rouse, within a moment he was on his feet, staring calmly at his captor. She smiled broadly as she studied her prisoner, the crimson mask on her face doing its best to hide her emotions. Such a fine specimen. He rolled his neck as he breathed in the musk-ridden aroma of the shack._

"_Sleep Well?" The assassin purred, dangling a slender leg from the bookshelf she was occupying. The man smiled up at her, his silver eyes fixed. _

"_Like a baby." No questions? No worry? No fear? The shimmering of her orbs let slip that she was enjoying her prize more with every moment. He began to pace from side to side, keeping his eyes glued to her at all times. The thin, black amour he was wearing, did little to hide his muscles shifting beneath the skin. _

"_Like a caged beast." The assassin's posture seemed to muse. The walls could barely contain him._

"_I know who you are," His commanding voice began, his thick blond brows were arched low, showing some semblance of anger. His confidence had at last caught her off guard, but she kept quiet. _

"_I have gone to a great deal of trouble to arrange this meeting so I ask now, why do you peruse me? Who arranged the contract?" As he spoke, he tossed a bundle of letters towards her. She leafed through them briefly, instantly realising who stood before her. _

"_Does it matter?" She replied, regaining her composure at last. The blood stained on most of the letters confirmed what had happened to the previous assassins that she had sent to kill him._

"_You're warm, dry... and still very much alive. That's more than can be said for old Grelod. Hmm?" She pulled the dagger resting on her thigh from its sheath; running her fingers along the sharp edges of the blade as she spoke. He remained still, his eyes never leaving her. "Half of Skyrim knows about it. Old hag gets butchered in her own orphanage? Things like that tend to get around. Oh, but don't misunderstand. I'm not criticising. It was a good kill. Old crone had it coming. And you saved a group of urchins, to boot." A corner of the man's mouth curved upwards as he studied his captor; a smile he suppressed before replying. _

"_Well, I usually employ more...subtle tactics, but it had to be bloody. I wanted you to know."_

"_Ah, but there is a slight... problem. You see, that little Aretino boy was looking for the Dark Brotherhood. For me, and my associates. Grelod the Kind was, by all rights, a Dark Brotherhood contract. A kill... that you stole. A kill you must repay." _

_Repayment?! _

_Heat began burning in the depths of his chest. A black, heavy thing, fire so impossibly alien; a sensation he could not control. His anger raged at the gall of the woman, and his eyes and tone hardened in response and restraint._

"_I could kill you right now, how about that for payment?" _

_She sheathed the dagger before continuing. Delicate in her attempts to placate."Now now, no need to be rude, I'm just trying to have a polite conversation. Where's the harm in that?" That playfully rich tone of hers; restraint rose to greet it. Control he had not felt in the longest of times. She had made him stop. Made him think. _

_After the dark heat had subsided, he spoke up once more, tone flushed with openness as the words came out. "Very well, who did you have in mind?"_

"_Ooh, very forward...I like that." He smiled darkly up at her and ran his tongue along his bottom lip. Perhaps this journey hadn't been a complete waste of time after all. _

"_If you turn around, you'll notice my guests. I've "collected" them from... well, that's not really important. The here and now. That's what matters. You see, there's a contract out on one of them, and that person can't leave this room alive. But...which one? Go on, see if you can figure it out. Make your choice. Make your kill. I just want to observe... and admire." As he spun around, the thin ebony cloak behind him fluttered in the gust. He didn't even hesitate as he reached for the midnight coloured bow on his back, he held it parallel to his shoulder as he pulled three arrows from their quiver. With one fluid movement, they all lay dead. As he moved to face his captor, he could see her note that he hadn't even taken a step towards them._

"_Well now, aren't we the over achiever?" She spoke quickly. Doing her best, he observed, to cover the shock. "Three possibilities...Three victims...Had to be one of them right? So why take the chance?"_

"_You told me to kill so I killed." He replied flatly. Utterly unconcerned by the lives he had just ended. _

"_And that is it! You understand the truth that few rarely do...I tell you to kill, you kill. No remorse, no pity, no regrets. But why stop there? She finished her sentence with a calculated upward inflection, as she slid down from the bookshelf to move in front of him in liquid motion. "I say we take our relationship to the next level." _

_A dark growl emerged from his chest as he mumbled his response,"I'm listening." predatory in tone as she ran a gloved hand along a well-toned muscle in his arm. Her shrouded face rose to his ear, the scent of crushed petals now filled his senses, drowning out the stench of the rest of the shack. _

"_I would like to officially extend to you an invitation to join my family-The Dark Brotherhood." She stayed close to him as she whispered the words, pressing her hand deep into his broad shoulder to gain the leverage she needed to reach his height._

"_In the south-west reaches of Skyrim, in the Pine Forest, you'll find the entrance to our Sanctuary. It's just beneath the road, hidden from view. When questioned by the Black Door, answer with the correct password: 'Silence, my brother.' Then you're in. And your new life begins." She lingered there for a few moments more before slipping the key to the shack into his palm. "I'll see you at home."_

Home.

He had no home. All illusion of such had been shattered as her betrayal came to light. What a fool he had been, hurling his pathetic devotions towards his enemy with such abandon. His humiliation was so complete, it was almost laughable.

Almost.

Antero bit down on his lip as he fought against the desire to scream. She had stabbed him in the back, thrown his affections back with venom, utterly rejected him. What a fool he had been. Frantic questions assaulted him without mercy as he clambered sluggishly to his feet. Should he have let her suffer? Could he have saved her? Did she ever feel anything for him? His glistening orbs glanced back down towards the crumbling petal between his fingers. And he remembered.

_Her deliciously uninhibited cackle found his ears as he entered their sanctuary. She was there, beaming fully as he silently snaked into view. _

"_The news is everywhere!" She began as he moved closer. Her breathy tone betraying her excitement. _

"_Vittoria Vici, the Emperor's cousin, butchered at her own wedding! Let's see his eminence try to ignore this!" He smiled inwardly as his mistresses lips pursed in delight. "you've started us down a path the Dark Brotherhood hasn't travelled in centuries. The assassination of an Emperor!" He felt her piercing gaze study his face for a moment before she continued. "Are you not pleased with yourself?" _

"_'Twas enjoyably enough at the time, I suppose." He noted a hint of confusion dance across her usually controlled features, and stepped towards her in response. "Are you happy, Astrid?" She stiffened ever so subtly, as a hand gripped at the table behind her._

"_You did well, brother." He flinched at her reply. She had used the word deliberately, he was sure. An attempt to keep him at a distance. The slits around his silver eyes narrowed as he moved closer still. _

"_I am not your brother." She smiled as his temper flared, pushing a hand against his chest as it heaved. He was sure that she knew what he wanted from her, knowledge that gave her control. Her hand slid down his front, and finally rested in his, before she led him into the room behind them. _

"_What would you like me to call you then?" She questioned after turning to face him. Fingers still intertwined with his larger ones. _

_He grunted as he leaned forwards, words brushing hungrily against the object of his affections. "Anything, but brother." _

_His masculine features hovered above hers; desperate for a response, though sure he would get none. A twitch from her lip was all he needed. Conformation for him, that she was plagued by the same thoughts as he. He moved closer still; and was emboldened when she made no move to resist. Sweet scented skin, sweet with a sharp undertone. It lingered; enveloped. Her hot breath steamed against his lips as he whispered her name; a feeling that drove him with desperation towards his destination. _

_The move to kiss was made by both._

_Sweet and sharp was the taste. A poison, he was sure. He drank deeper, sucking with fervour at her bottom lip. The purple that had previously stained it, formed to liquid quickly, and slid against his tongue in an instant. The poison's feeble assault on his system was rebuffed with confidence by his beast blood. Still, the delicate tingling along his nerves as it passed through his veins, was not at all unpleasant. He shuddered into her frame in response. _

_The knowledge that the wonderful poison had been intended for another, caused his heart to sink and his temper to flare. Arnbjorn – her other wolf. He clutched at her neck in fury; digging his nails deeper as she pressed her mouth into his. His senses erupted as she moved to take the initiative; clutching his hair and pulling him down to give herself better access, guiding him over to a dresser to rest against, as her hands explored with interest. The sight of her, the smell, the taste, the experience. He growled with urgency as the beast within began to rouse. The fight to keep control was a difficult one as she tugged against his collar; and the pressure only rose as her lips moved to his ear._

"_Let him out." Silver eyes shot towards blue ones. Searching with worry and confusion._

"_No-I could kill you!"_

_She kissed him again. "You wont." _

_He gripped her jaw in reply, pulling her face back towards him. She held his gaze with confidence, challenging his resistance, and knowing, as he was sure she did, that he had increasingly little to offer. That sweet sharpness of her, it was everywhere. Their lips met again as the beast became more alert, and soon his distilled passions began to blur into heat as-_

"_Astrid?!" Her flushed face swung in the direction of the door, as a deep voice called from the distance._

"_Coming!" Antero's being stiffened as she replied to the voice, and his palms clutched at her soft cheeks with anger._

"_Don't go." _

_She sighed; placing her hands on top of his while attempting to brake free from his embrace. "I must." Fury and frustration frothed over his surface as she refused to relent, and the skin on his hands lost all colour as he pushed them harder against her face._

"_Stay here with me."_

"_He is my husband." His nostrils flared as he flung his hands from her; clenching one into a fist and thrusting it into the wall behind him. The force of bone and flesh against rock, sent white pain coursing through the limb. This did little to dull his anger; only her hand at his back did that. She turned him round with care, greeting him with a smile as their eyes met. _

"_Temper temper, my lovely listener." _

_His stance softened as she caressed his weeping hand, not knowing what to say to change the outcome of their tryst. "Astrid-" He managed to muster a moment later, though he was cut short as a finger closed his parted lips. She ran something so impossibly soft against his cheek, before pressing it into his bloodied hand, and heading for the door. _

"_To remember us by." She whispered as she left. Antero's instincts screamed to move, to chase, to reclaim, to lay claim; but instead, he remained motionless. He looked down at the purple petal resting in his palm; soft, sweet and sharp. And he tried to remember. _

Fumbling fingers worried at the clasp of a silver pendant. Eventually, it clicked open, and Antero placed the crusted petal back on to the stained purple groove within. It closed with another click, and he fingered the object tenderly before letting it fall back against his chest. The thin chain that held the trinket, glinted softly at the movement. His confidant body rose to its full height as he set about leaving. This had been a detour that he shouldn't have taken. Dimhollow Crypt was a good day away if he was lucky, and he had given enough of a head start to the vigilant fool that was to meet him there. Yes, he would have to move fast indeed.

Antero pulled his shadow coloured hood over his pale features as he walked towards the light, brushing a thumb over the bird-like crest on his chest as he brought his hand down. He stood at the exit for a moment as he pushed his emotions down into the dark; forcing them to lay dormant, sharing that space with the beast below.

Taking a breath, he continued on his journey.


End file.
